Easy Data: How To Make Money Web Scraping For Business

For those starting businesses for the first time or trying to take their existing business to the next level, it can be hard to know where to start. Web scraping, which is the automatic extraction of data from a webpage, is a tool that businesses new and old, big and small, can use to increase profits and growth. Web scraping is perfect for businesses and individuals new to data and data collection because it is a simple and effective way to begin incorporating online data into your routine.

Web scraping helps you better understand the marketplace you’re working with, your target audience, and the interests of that target audience. If you’re wondering how to make money web scraping, then this is your beginner’s guide.

If you already have a basic understanding of web scraping, then use the table of contents to discover how to use scraping to increase profits and growth.

Table of Contents

How Do Web Scrapers Work?

Web scrapers are tools that automatically extract information from web pages and then place that information into a clear, compiled downloadable spreadsheet. This makes the information easily shareable with employees or business partners. While you can perform web scraping manually, web scrapers save you lots of time and energy, helping you focus on the business that matters most: your own. For small business owners crunched for time or individuals starting a new project, scraping is affordable and perfect for those looking to incorporate data for the first time because it is very user friendly, affordable, and does not require an entirely new department.

How To Make Money With Web Scraping

There are many ways to make money from web scraping. If you are running a small business, trying to create a new product, or even supplementing other income, then there are ways you can use web scraping skills to make extra cash that in turn supports your business and career goals. For example, creating a scraper that helps other businesses compare prices, product reviews, and more can help you make extra cash and offer business great data. Taking the how of web scraping and peeling back its layers, there are even more specific, profitable jobs that you can begin after a simple purchase. However, if you already have a solid business, then you can utilize web scraping to increase profit and growth. You will grow because web scraping helps you identify ways to improve your product and process, but it also brings you into a new realm of data that helps you get ahead of your competitors still unaware of scraping’s benefits.

Business Benefits Of Web Scraping

If you’re familiar with marketing, PR, or sales, you know that keeping up with the competition is a key part of staying viable in an oversaturated market. How do you benefit from web scraping for commercial use?

Increase lead generation

Lead generation is the main goal of the marketing world. Web scraping gives you the tools to assess how your product or service is performing. For example, you may find that by scraping a specific keyword that your business does not show up with the top results, making it harder for new clients or customers to find you. With this information, you can then adopt strategies to increase visibility, therefore increasing lead generation and profit. This can also be done by scraping product information of competitors to make sure you have the most up to date features or design so that your product remains relevant. Web scraping allows you to more readily aggregate essential knowledge about how to change your product or service for the better, helping you grow and make an impact if you’re the one to introduce this concept to your team.

Find the perfect price

Consumers make many decisions based on price point, and sometimes even price alone. While consumers with more disposable income might consider various features of a product, many people just go for the best bargain. While you should not make a product cheaper than you can afford to, there is a perfect price any business, big or small, must find to beat the competition and continue to grow. By scraping competitor prices, you can discover the price that maximizes your profit without creating a price much higher than average. Additionally, you can continually scrape pricing information to make any changes as the market continues to develop.

Understand customer sentiment

With all the focus on prices and products, it can be easy to lose focus on what really matters: people. Understanding what consumers want is the most important move you can make to increase profits and grow your business. Thankfully, social media and product review sites offer tons of data available with web scraping. When you scrape social media profiles, you can gather information on the interest and sentiments of customers regarding a myriad of topics, including political or social issues that relate to your product or service. You can also scrape reviews from previous customers, which can help you identify patterns. For example, if you find most negative reviews mention slow shipping or poor product design, you can then make the proper changes necessary to get back on track. Helping your team understand the power of social media for sentiment research instead of relying solely on old fashioned focus groups will take your team to the next level and help you stand out as an innovator.

Scraping Robot’s Tools Help You Grow

Scraping Robot offers different scraping modules, custom scraping solutions, and our team’s expertise on all things scraping. Below are some specific modules and solutions that can help your business grow right now. Scraping Robot’s team is dedicated to working with clients across fields to help them utilize data to the fullest extent. Sign up now and get 5000 scrapes free.

Create a custom scraping solution

While Scraping Robot’s modules are great for learning more about the basics of scraping, they are limited in scope and size. With a custom scraping solution, you can scrape by the millions or billions while paying less per individual scrape. In addition, when you work with our team to develop a custom scraping solution, you don’t have to worry about security laws, development or management as our team works with you. Most importantly, a custom scraping solution helps you collect the most important data catered to your needs. If this sounds like a good fit for you or your business, contact us to get started.

Access tons of public data

A URL scraper can extract information from any webpage into a downloadable spreadsheet. With the variety scraping any URL can offer, you can use this one module to complete a myriad of tasks including scraping overall market stats, online comments, and more. Thankfully, there are many government websites or other sources of national data that can impact your market (homeownership, average income, etc). This is a great scraper for those just getting started.

Scraping keywords

An important scraping strategy is learning how to scrape search results for a given keyword whether through Google or a social media site. When you scrape search results, you can see which competitors show up more readily in search engines and also see what kinds of other webpages, news stories, or sites are associated with a given keyword. Additionally, scraping a trending topic can help you gauge sentiment regarding a specific issue. This data helps you better understand your role in the search algorithm and the way customers feel about certain topics.

Final Thoughts

For those just starting a new business, it can be difficult to get started. For those already in business, you might be asking yourself how to grow. Web scraping is your answer. No matter what stage in the business journey you’re at right now, web scraping can help you understand the marketplace, understand consumers, and gather feedback. Once you learn the basics of scraping, how to make money web scraping is evident. Scraping gives you insights that help you find a more profitable price point, increase lead generation, and find your target audience. With all these strategic advantages, you’re bound to grow as a business.

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Hannah Benson